Walter Addison Marable of South Boston died Saturday at The Woodview nursing home.

Mr. Marable, 83, spent more than 65 years involved in coaching in Halifax County. This well-respected sportsman was an inductee to the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame.

Carlyle Wimbish Jr., the president of the local Sports Hall, recalled yesterday that Mr. Marable made a lasting contribution to the area.

“I don’t think there’s been anybody that has contributed more to the young people of Halifax County than Addison Marable ... for a great number of years,” Wimbish recalled.

From Dixie Youth baseball to midget football to local recreational basketball, and more, Mr. Marable made his mark.

“I’ve gotten a lot of people saying that if it hadn’t been for Addison, I wouldn’t have been able to play. They talked about how he was a father figure for so many young people in this county,” said Wimbish.

Wimbish said Mr. Marable was a charter founder of the Hall and also had a lengthy stint as secretary and treasurer for the local Hall.

Wimbish recalled when he came to the area in 1958, Mr. Marable was the first person to befriend him. Marable had heard Wimbish had played college football, and then the local sports legend got Wimbish in youth sports coaching.

Todd Trickey, a former standout Comet sports athlete and college pitcher at Virginia Tech, was inducted into the local Sports Hall this year. Yesterday, he remembered Mr. Marable fondly.

Trickey said, “I would say probably between Hugh Moore and Addison Marable, they impacted more youth in Halifax County than anybody. Addison coached all three sports (football, basketball and baseball). There’s just no way to measure the impact he had on the youth of this county.

“They don’t make people like that anymore,” Trickey said.

Trickey recalled Marable was tough and wanted to win, with good sportsmanship.

“He was a competitor, now. He wanted to win. He would compete against (anyone), very, very hard. But he wanted to win the right way. He taught fundamentals,” said Trickey.

Trickey also played basketball in high school. Trickey recalled when he played basketball for Mr. Marable, the boys involved spent an hour throwing chest passes. “He wanted everybody to do it right. He didn’t want anything done half way,” said Trickey, recalled of the early 1970s practice session.

“He was making us all learn how to shoot layups with our left hand, our off hand. He was up to speed on stuff,” Trickey said of practice sessions with Mr. Marable.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and was a veteran of the Korean conflict. He was also a member of the South Boston Lions Club and the American Legion Post 8. Mr. Marable was also a Lay minister to many area churches.